Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, or hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. Storage furniture (which often makes use of doors, drawers, and shelves) is used to hold or contain smaller objects such as clothes, tools, books, and household goods. Furniture can be a product of artistic design and is considered a form of decorative art. In addition to furniture's functional role, it can serve a symbolic or religious purpose. Domestic furniture works to create, in conjunction with furnishings such as clocks and lighting, comfortable and convenient interior spaces. Furniture can be made from many materials, including metal, plastic, and wood. Furniture can be made using a variety of woodworking joints which often reflect the local culture. Furniture in mental health settings The analytic couch the prime piece of furniture associated with clinical settings. Furniture in educational settings Furniture and concentration Furniture and identity See also * Facility environments * Human factors engineering * Interior design * Physical comfort * Therapeutic environments Further reading Books *Chafetz, P. K. (1991). Structuring environments for dementia patients. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. *Corlett, E. N. (1990). The evaluation of industrial seating. Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis. Papers *Alexander, N. B., Schultz, A. B., & Warwick, D. N. (1991). Rising from a chair: Effects of age and functional ability on performance biomechanics: Journals of Gerontology Vol 46(3) May 1991, M91-M98. *Axia, G., Baroni, M. R., & Peron, E. M. (1990). Cognitive assessment of classrooms in childhood and early and late adulthood: Children's Environments Quarterly Vol 7(2) 1990, 17-25. *Baldwin, S. (1985). 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Electronic furniture for the curious home: Assessing ludic designs in the field: International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction Vol 22(1-2) 2007, 119-152. *Goldberger, M. (1995). The couch as defense and as potential for enactment: Psychoanalytic Quarterly Vol 64(1) Jan 1995, 23-42. *Golding, A. P. (1988). The evaluation of HSRC seating and work-station facilities. Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council. *Gregory, D. E., Dunk, N. M., & Callaghan, J. P. (2006). Stability ball versus office chair: Comparison of muscle activation and lumbar spine posture during prolonged sitting: Human Factors Vol 48(1) Spr 2006, 142-153. *Grimsrud, T. M. (1990). Humans were not created to sit--and why you have to refurnish your life: Ergonomics Vol 33(3) Mar 1990, 291-295. *Helander, M. G. (2003). Forget about ergonomics in chair design? Focus on aesthetics and comfort! : Ergonomics Vol 46(13-14) Oct 2003, 1306-1319. *Helander, M. G., Little, S. E., & Drury, C. G. (2000). 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The effects of ergonomically designed school furniture on pupils' attitudes, symptoms and behaviour: Applied Ergonomics Vol 25(5) Oct 1994, 299-304. *May, D. R., Reed, K., Schwoerer, C. E., & Potter, P. (2004). Ergonomic Office Design and Aging: A Quasi-Experimental Field Study of Employee Reactions to an Ergonomics Intervention Program: Journal of Occupational Health Psychology Vol 9(2) Apr 2004, 123-135. *Moldovan, I. (1989). An experiment of professional selection and training of artistic furniture sculptors: Revista de Psihologie Vol 35(1) Mar 1989, 17-26. *Muller, G. F. (1992). Predominance of sensory impression in the evaluation of ergonomically designed office swivel-chairs: Zeitschrift fur Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie Vol 36(4) 1992, 177-183. *Nesci, D. A. (1990). Ethnopsychoanalytic considerations about the use of the couch: Archivio di Psicologia, Neurologia e Psichiatria Vol 51(4) Oct-Dec 1990, 500-508. *O'Hara, P. M. (1991). 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The effect of individually adjusted workstations on upper quadrant posture and muscle activity in school children: Work: Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation Vol 18(3) 2002, 239-248. *Tripathi, N. (2002). Seating preference and seat placement as indicators of privacy preference: Psychological Studies Vol 47(1-3) Jan,Jul,&Nov 2002, 129-138. *Tuttle, N., Barrett, R., & Gass, E. (2007). Preferred seat orientation of senior high-school students: Ergonomics Vol 50(10) Oct 2007, 1603-1611. *Tuttle, N., Barrett, R., & Gass, E. (2007). Seated buttock contours: A pilot study of Australian senior high-school students: Ergonomics Vol 50(10) Oct 2007, 1593-1602. *Weisbord, M., & Janoff, S. (2005). Faster, Shorter, Cheaper May Be Simple; It's Never Easy: Journal of Applied Behavioral Science Vol 41(1) Mar 2005, 70-82. *Wilkin, P. (2009). Are you sitting comfortably? The political economy of the body: Sociology of Health & Illness Vol 31(1) Jan 2009, 35-50. *Williams, C. D., & Jacobs, K. (2002). The effectiveness of a home-based ergonomics intervention on the proper use of computers by middle school children: Work: Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation Vol 18(3) 2002, 261-268. *Wingrat, J. K., & Exner, C. E. (2005). The impact of school furniture on fourth grade children's on-task and sitting behavior in the classroom: A pilot study: Work: Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation Vol 25(3) 2005, 263-272. *Winter, G. S., McIntosh, J., & May, D. (2003). Survival In The Korean Furniture Industry: Value-chain Networking: Journal of Managerial Issues Vol 15(4) Win 2003, 450-466. *Yoo, W.-G., Yi, C.-H., & Kim, M.-H. (2007). Effects of a ball-backrest chair on the muscles associated with upper crossed syndrome when working at a VDT: Work: Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation Vol 29(3) 2007, 239-244. Dissertations *Han, S. (2007). A critical analysis on the fire safety aspects of furniture. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. *Homme, D. R. (2000). Chairs in the context of life experience: An exploratory study. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. *Kodzi, E. T., Jr. (2007). Mass customization as a framework for manufacturing transformations in the United States wooden furniture industry. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. *Merry, C. J. (1995). The role of expectancy effects on workers' use and evaluation of new ergonomic chairs. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. *Nunes Sobrinho, F. D. (1986). An experimental analysis of the effect of desk design on body motion, oral reading accuracy, and reading comprehension of hyperactive students: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Rechavi, T. B. (2004). Couched in their own terms: What makes a living room? Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. *Savage, E. R. (2007). Executive compensation, boards of directors, agency costs, and research and development of top furniture manufacturers. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences.